Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Board of Directors Elects New Board Members

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A longtime breast cancer community advocate from North Carolina and a senior executive partner in one of Dallas’ leading law firms are joining Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s Board of Directors as the world’s leading breast cancer organization moves to a new period of transition and growth.

“Alan is an outstanding attorney and community leader whose experience and expertise have served many Dallas nonprofit organizations well. We are delighted to welcome both to our Board of Directors as Susan G. Komen sets the stage for continued growth in our mission to end suffering from breast cancer”

Elected unanimously Sept. 21 were Tricia Ory, former board president of Komen’s Charlotte Affiliate, and Alan D. Feld, senior executive partner in the Dallas law firm Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld, LLP.

Ory is the second Komen Affiliate representative to the board, joining long-time Affiliate representative Elyse Gellerman. Her election fulfills a commitment announced earlier this year to enhance the representation of Komen Affiliate leaders on the 10-member national board from one to two.

“As board president in Charlotte, Tricia’s leadership and her passion for this organization became well-known and she is recognized as one of the most effective community advocates in the region,” said Komen’s national Board Chairman Robert Taylor.

Feld has practiced law in Dallas since 1960 and served on numerous Dallas-area nonprofit boards.

“Alan is an outstanding attorney and community leader whose experience and expertise have served many Dallas nonprofit organizations well. We are delighted to welcome both to our Board of Directors as Susan G. Komen sets the stage for continued growth in our mission to end suffering from breast cancer,” Taylor said.

Tricia Ory

Ory served six years on the Komen Charlotte Affiliate Board: two years as president, two as treasurer and two as board secretary. During her tenure with the Charlotte Board, the Affiliate increased staff, race participation and revenues (from $1.4 million to $2.5 million), and increased the Charlotte Affiliate’s funding of community health programs from $825,000 to $1.4 million.

Also during her tenure as Board President, Komen Charlotte won the prestigious Outstanding Philanthropy Award, presented by the Charlotte Chapter of the Association Fundraising Professionals in 2010.

Ory is currently Director of External Reporting for Peak 10, Inc., where she is responsible for the preparation and presentation of financial and operational results to all key stakeholders, board of directors, shareholders, executive management, financial institutions and reporting agencies.

Alan D. Feld

Feld joined Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld, LLP in 1960 and is one of three senior executive partners in one of the world’s most respected law firms. He was appointed by the governor to the Texas State Securities Board in 1985 and served as the board’s chairman through 1991. In 1998 he was honored by the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law with the establishment of the Alan D. Feld Professorship.

He currently serves as chairman of the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law’s executive board. He has served on the American Bar Association Commission on Opportunities for Minorities in its Profession.

He was a member of the board of directors of the Dallas Citizen Council, a trustee of Southern Methodist University, board of visitors member for UT Southwestern University Hospitals and Clinics, board of visitors member at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and a former board member of the ARC, Timberlawn Psychiatric Research Foundation, Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Brandeis University.

Dr. Lasalle Leffall, Jr.

Also announced today is the retirement of longtime board member and two-time Board Chair Dr. LaSalle Leffall, Jr., who has served on the Komen Board since 2002.

Leffall is a prominent surgeon and oncologist and provost and academic chairman of Howard University School of Medicine. Leffall previously served as Komen’s board chairman from 2002 to 2007 and again from 2010-2011. He is a long-time supporter of Komen for the Cure’s mission to save lives and end breast cancer forever.

In 2006, Susan G. Komen for the Cure established the LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr. Komen Fellowship in Health Disparities to support the participation of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in the field of breast cancer. The fellowship provides funding at the post-doctoral level to a host institution, for a three-year program supporting training and research addressing health disparities as they pertain to breast cancer.

“Dr. Leffall is one of the most highly respected surgeons and oncologists in the nation, and we thank him for his years of service to our organization,” Taylor said.

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure®

Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer. Today, Susan G. Komen for the Cure® works to end breast cancer in the U.S. and throughout the world through ground-breaking research, community health outreach, advocacy and programs in more than 30 countries. Visit komen.org. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.